Law Campaign
Towards a ban on child soldiers
In recent years, progress has been made in developing an international legal and policy framework for protecting children from involvement in armed conflict. An increasing number of governments have "ratified" or agreed to become legally bound by a series of international laws banning the use of child soldiers in armed conflict.
The statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), established in 1998, provides for the prosecution and punishment of those found guilty of recruiting children under the age of 15 for use in hostilities. In 2004 the ICC announced that it was initiating investigations into crimes committed in the course of armed conflict in Northern Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, where thousands of child soldiers are still being used. The prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (established by the UN and the government in 2002) issued its first indictments in 2003. They included charges of conscripting, enlisting or using boys and girls under the age of 15 to participate in hostilities.
The UN Security council has issued a series of resolutions condemning the use of child soldiers and proposing measures to stop child recruitment. These include dialogue with parties to armed conflict aimed at the immediate demobilization of children; and targeted measures to sanction those who continue to recruit and use them as soldiers. Such measures could include the suspension of military aid or assistance, weapons or travel bans of asset freezing.
The UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the African Union (formerly the Organization for African Unity), the European Union, the Organization of American States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have all condemned the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
Source: The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.
